Before I get back to writing about Vietnamese politics and history, I want to take a minute and turn our attention to the U.S. presidential race. More specifically, I want to briefly discuss the current contest for the GOP leadership nomination, and its eccentric frontrunner, Mr. Donald J. Trump.

See, throughout the Republican leadership run so far, Trump has been making a spectacle of himself at every single turn. From riling up the Hispanic voters with his polarizing remarks about Mexican immigrants, to taking shots at Senator John McCain and questioning his war hero credentials, to bumping heads with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly on the Republican debate and thereafter, the GOP candidate and real estate mogul Donald Trump is causing a raucous everywhere he goes.

It’s entertaining, no doubt, but it does raise the question of whether Trump, given his character, is legitimately qualified to be the next president of the United States. At the start, I was one of the many to say no, he’s a buffoon, an imbecile, there is no way he is going to win the election come November 2016 and become the 45th president of the U.S.A. I’m still not exactly on board with Mr. Trump, but I have to admit, though, that watching him over the past few weeks, this guy is slowly starting to win me over, if only slightly.

One of the main reasons that is drawing me over to Team Trump stems from a tweet that The Donald posted on Twitter just a few days ago:

Markets are crashing – all caused by poor planning and allowing China and Asia to dictate the agenda. This could get very messy! Vote Trump.

He just called out China directly in a tweet. I respect that. It’s no secret how I feel about Communist China, in regards to its economics, politics, and overall conduct on the international stage. The People’s Republic of China never plays by the rules, in economics or in foreign relations. It’s refreshing to see someone like The Donald speak out and address the problem openly and in a forward manner. He just tells it like it is. I like that.

In this case, he is talking about economics, but I would like to see what Trump’s views are when it comes to China’s cyber espionage and plagiarism of American technology and expertise. Furthermore, I want to see what The Donald has to say about the shoddy and toxic “Made in China” products, the communist nation’s blatant manipulation of its currency, and its overall belligerency in the Pacific. I know, I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. I’ll just pump the breaks on all these topics, at least until there are further developments, if there is even any.

The point here is that Donald Trump has the cojones to speak his mind and address the issue. He doesn’t beat around the bush, he gets straight to the point. Not only that, but he is not afraid to tackle any issue he deems relevant, and that to me, is a respectable trait in a presidential candidate.

It’s still early, there is more than 14 months left until the election, and the momentum can shift in any direction. I’m not saying that I have already pegged Trump as the leader of the Republican Party, or that I’m even supporting the Republicans, for that matter. All I’m doing here is weighing in on the current discussion, and pointing out some notable developments which I think are important. We’ll have to see, as the presidential race goes on, which candidate I will stand with (Stand With Rand? No, probably not.). Like I said, it’s still early, and anything can happen.